CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
“David has high standards of excellence that he brings to every project. He has a perfect blend of imagination and practicality, which means he can generate creative ideas that actually can be implemented. David's work has gone a long way to enhancing the research reputation of the college. David’s work sets a new standard for how we communicate about the college and build awareness of our research, teaching, and engagement efforts. But it isn’t just his outstanding work that sets him apart, it’s also his truly exceptional way of partnering on projects and collaborating with peers.”
- Scott Meyer, Chief Marketing Officer, College of Liberal Arts (CLA), University of Minnesota
“David's work is both beautiful and effective. I am thankful for how he understands, embraces and tells the stories that CLA wants to deliver with such talent and expertise. In a recent project with David, I was amazed at his skills. After the initial shooting, I was disappointed with what we had and didn't think we were going to be able to have the piece we needed. Then David went to work. He took the seemingly disparate pieces and blended them together with an artist's brush to make a beautiful story that was exactly what we hoped it would be.”
- Andy Gammons, Undergraduate Recruitment Coordinator, CLA
“David is very thoughtful about planning each film project: establishing goals, determining appropriate themes, and aligning partners. While he's shooting a film, he has a gift for capturing subjects with their best foot forward. His end-products make each individual featured stars in their own right, while bringing out the most impressive qualities of the College of Liberal Arts.”
- Erica Giorgi, Director of Alumni Relations,CLA
“I enjoy working with David so much for so many reasons. He is collaborative and humble. He's creative, and also a perfectionist (he's going to tweak lighting for as long as it takes). He's nice, so he can put his subjects at ease. Above all else, the quality of his work is outstanding and brings great honor to the college.”
- Kelly O’Brien, Director of Communications,CLA
“He brings a balanced professional/creative skillset to each of his projects, and very little additional time is required on revisions because David's edits are consistently ‘on message’ in even the first rough cuts. Importantly for us collaborators, David is patient, kind, thoughtful, and reliable – he always meets our tight deadlines with grace.”
- Tessa Eagan, Director of Brand and Marketing, CLA
13th Night: Editor / Assistant Director
It's been my honor to collaborate with critically acclaimed author Benjamin Percy on his first short films. 13th Night started on the film festival circuit in 2024 and is now online. Check out the above trailer, which I edited and Stephen King endorsed!
"[David is] a musician and a documentary filmmaker who also works as the video producer at the University of Minnesota. He can talk at great length about the Universal monsters, and in high school, over four years, as a passion project, he painstakingly adapted James O’Barr’s graphic novel The Crow. He’s my kind of weirdo, in other words. And he’s endlessly curious, wildly talented, and has a MacGyver attitude. We don’t have what we need? We can figure it out, no problem, with this flashlight, a jar of rubber cement, two green jelly beans, and a paperclip."
- (From part 2 of Ben’s “Chasing The Nightmare” essay series on Fangoria.com)
"He’s an editing wizard. Our early exchanges were mostly driven by the obvious question: “What do you think of this shot…versus this shot…versus this shot?” Sometimes we were debating an actor’s delivery or posture. Sometimes we were talking about the framing or angle. Sometimes it was the speed or focus or choreography of the take. Sometimes it was all of these things as we debated the shuffled arrangement of a few seconds here, a few seconds there.
If production is a frenetic war zone, editing is the painstaking aftermath when you assess victories and losses. This time-consuming, patience-defying process requires someone with a sharp eye, a precise, methodical mind, and an instinctual understanding of Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve. When navigating the software, David’s eyes flicked and his fingers clicked with the speed of an accountant calculating his 5,000th tax return."
- (From part 5 of Ben’s “Chasing The Nightmare” essay series on Fangoria.com)
You can read Ben’s whole six-part making of series @ Fangoria.com.
WHITTIER:
Editor / Director / Camera / Interviewer
"You have done amazing, heartening work on the film. Thank you from the bottom of my heart." - Playwright, Whittier
"Thanks so much for the beautiful work. I think it looks and sounds great. The narrative is clear and moving. I thought the content selection from all of the interviewees is thoughtful and intelligent. I found myself even more proud of our collective work on this film and Whittier! Thank you so much for your time and talent. This makes me proud."
- Project Client and Director | BFA Actor Training Program, Aaron Todd Douglas
JINGLE DRESS DANCERS IN THE MODERN WORLD:
Editor / Producer / Director / Camera
"I love it! This is just what I had in mind. I'm excited and proud of what we've done. Miigwech! ” - Client and featured faculty, Brenda Child
RESEARCH & CREATIVE EXCELLENCE:
Editor / Producer / Writer / Director / Camera
“Wow! This is truly amazing. Can you write my tenure file? All jokes aside, thank you for capturing what I do. Excellent work.” - Featured faculty, Jessica Lopez Lyman
“It was a pleasure working with Dave, he is so gifted with video and making people feel at ease in front of the camera. Thank you so much for this opportunity.” - Featured faculty, Chotsani Elaine Dean
“I've watched several times and am moved to tears with each viewing. I talked with [the other project partners] this morning, and we share in admiration for what you've brought home...even without COVID19 restrictions, this is a great video” - Client, Susan Thurston-Hamerski, Asst. Director of Alumni and Donor Communications